Icon of Sophia, the Wisdom of God (Novgorod)
The wonderworking "Sophia, the Wisdom of God" Icon of the Mother of God is found in many churches in Russia. There are two main types: Kiev and Novgorod.
The first icon of "Sophia, the Wisdom of God" appeared in Novgorod in the XV century, although the first church in Russia dedicated to her was built in 989 in Novgorod, and the next in 1037 at Kiev.
The central figure on the Icon is the Almighty in the form of a winged Fiery Angel, who sits on a golden throne supported by seven pillars. He is dressed in royal garb and girded with a precious belt, on His head is a royal crown. In His right hand He holds a scepter with a cross at the top, and with His left he presses a scroll to His chest. On the sides are depicted the Mother of God with the Divine Infant, and Saint John the Baptist with a scroll on which it reads: "I testify." Above the head of the Angel Christ the Savior is blessing, even higher is a golden throne with an open book on it - a symbol of the Divine presence. On both sides of the throne three Angels are kneeling.
The fact that the Fiery Angel is Christ can be ascertained from the words of the Apostle Paul, who says: "we preach Christ crucified, a scandal to the Jews, and folly to the Gentiles. Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God ... And of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom for us from God, both righteousness and sanctification and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:23-24; 30).
In the Book of Revelation Saint John the Evangelist describes the Son of Man as "clothed with a long robe and girt with a golden girdle around his breast; his head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters ..." (Revelation 1:13-15).
This wooden icon in a gilded silver riza is a copy of the ancient Sophia Icon from Emperor Justinian's church in Constantinople, and dates back to the time of the construction of the Novgorod Cathedral.
This image was renowned for numerous miracles. According to legend, in 1542, a woman suffering from an affliction of the eyes was healed after praying before the Icon, as it is written in the Novgorod Chronicle: "The Wisdom of God forgave the woman, who was sick." The image of Holy Wisdom is an expression of the power and action of the Wisdom of God, and therefore it is presented in a fiery form.
All the numerous copies of the "Sophia, the Wisdom of God" Icon have as their prototype either the Kiev or Novgorod icons. The celebration of the Kiev Icon takes place on September 8, and the Novgorod icon on August 15.